Gene Hackman’s Family Was Much DARKER Than You Thought

Gene Hackman had three children. When he died in February 2025, none of them were living with him, and his will sent everything into a trust that has never been made public. This is the story behind that will: a father who drove away when Gene was thirteen, the years of odd jobs in New York, a late career that kept him away from his own kids for months at a time, and the quiet life in Santa Fe with his second wife, Betsy Arakawa. Then the last week in that house, told through the records: a phone log, a pacemaker, and the handwritten notes the couple left each other. You'll hear Gene Hackman in his own words (Larry King Live, Inside the Actors Studio, Late Show with David Letterman), the 911 call of February 26, 2025, and the findings of New Mexico's chief medical investigator. CHAPTERS 0:00 Three children, one will 1:11 Three calls to a clinic 3:06 Did he know? 4:34 What the pacemaker recorded 6:09 Danville, Illinois 6:59 1943: his father drives away 8:18 His mother, Anna 9:16 The Marines, then New York 10:34 Faye Maltese and "Least Likely to Succeed" 12:05 The breakthrough, at 37 14:12 Three children, and months away 15:42 Betsy Arakawa 17:30 The Royal Tenenbaums, and walking away 20:03 Two wills and a ninety-day clause 22:03 "Cut out"? What the court file shows 23:39 The fight over the records 25:06 The Bonhams auction 27:17 February 26, 2025 29:36 The notes 31:57 Back to 1943 #GeneHackman #BetsyArakawa #SecretDistrict